


Tortall Revisited

by murderbunny



Category: Tortall - Tamora Pierce
Genre: Camaraderie, Diplomacy, F/M, Fighting, Knights - Freeform, Shenanigans, Training, she fell down
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-12-16
Updated: 2019-04-14
Packaged: 2019-09-20 02:23:29
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 4
Words: 4,151
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17013771
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/murderbunny/pseuds/murderbunny
Summary: Irnai the Seer predicted that Neal's daughter would try for her knighthood. So based on that, I present a bunch of semi-related scenes, in roughly chronological order, featuring the next generation of Tortallan characters.





	1. Back at the palace

**Author's Note:**

> I own nothing belonging to Tamora Pierce. I'm grateful to play in her world

Sunrise found Mei and her mother traveling at a brisk pace along the Coastal Road, headed north to Corus. The journey took almost twelve hours, so Ma had dragged Mei out of bed, shoved a hunk of cheese and piece of bread in her hand, and they had set out in predawn greyness with Mei barely awake. Baron George had been kind enough to lend them three horses, which would be delivered to Horsemaster Tobe in Corus. Mei knew from experience that the journey would be a blur, with boring scenery, and at the end her eleven-year-old body would be saddle sore for a week.

The sun was low in the sky when the two ladies rode through the southeast gate of the capital city. Ma, bless her heart, had not wanted to waste time by stopping for meals, so they had subsisted on stale water, dried beef strips, and dried figs eaten in the saddle. Mei’s stomach was loudly lamenting its’ underfed status, and as they rode through the market section, she saw a few food vendors. She motioned one over, and handed over six copper pieces for two buns, fresh out of the oven. Mei moaned as she bit into the chewy sourdough crust, lined with melted cheese and savory ham. She very reluctantly handed the second one to her mother without speaking. 

They rode into the castle yard, just as dusk settled over the palace. Mei had barely dismounted when a tall man with eyes identical to her own bounded out of a door towards them.   
“Da!” she shouted joyously as the man swooped her up in a hug.  
“Took you long enough. I’d practically given up hope of seeing my family again!”   
The man laughed as he set her down. Mei was reluctant to leave her father’s tight hug, but he was already looking over her shoulder at Ma, so with a kiss on his cheek, she stepped away.   
“I’ll just errr...go see about the horses then.”  
Her parents paid no attention as Mei pulled the horses toward the stable. She shook her head. It wasn’t normal, but even after 14 years of marriage, her parents were as giddy and demonstrative as a pair of newlyweds, even in public. Mei’s cheeks flushed; she certainly didn’t want to hang around while they greeted each other. She handed the horses off to Horsemaster Tobe, and decided to visit her cousins while her parents were distracted. 

As she approached the door to the Masbolle apartments a dark haired boy shoved her aside, cursing darkly under his breath. Mei tentatively pushed open the door, and was greeted by a tired-looking Aunt Keladry. After giving her a hug. Mei inquired what the fuss had been about.   
“Oh, Mikael and I had a misunderstanding. In which I did most of the understanding. Enough about that. How were the Yamani Islands? Did you get to do much training at the Emperor’s court? Take up the glaive?”

Kel rubbed her leg as she spoke, eventually sinking into a chair. She had an old wound that had ruined the muscles of her leg permanently, so she didn’t take posts that required active combat, instead focusing on command and strategy. Mei sat across from her, careful not to bump the leg.

“No, they wouldn’t let me. I watched training though, and I have been using glaive pattern dances with my spear. Mostly trained on my own. The squires who came trained with the master of arms though. Where’re Ciara and Alexis?”

“Alexis is helping Ciara move her things into page’s quarters. You’ll probably want to do that tomorrow, since you’ve been in the saddle all day.”  
“I’m knowing that to be true!” Mei groaned.

Kel stood up from the table and got her a warm cup of tea, with the little cakes Mei secretly enjoyed. Mei gratefully sipped the peppermint tea - her favorite. Despite her general distaste for things Yamani, she had always gotten along well with Aunt Kel. It helped that Kel, unlike Yuki, didn’t try to force the issue of accepting her Yamani heritage. Aunt Kel understood that Mei could - and did - make decisions for herself. She was a fantastic warrior, a natural leader, and had an endless supply of embarrassing anecdotes about her father from their years together as pages and squires. They talked for about an hour of inconsequential things; of relatives, Palace news, and the latest escapades of the Second Company of the King’s Own. 

Kel, who was aware of Neal and Yuki’s amorous reunions, offered to let Mei stay the night in what Mei assumed was a spare room. She accepted, relieved to have an excuse to avoid their quarters, and after sending a note to her parents was shown to a room down the hall. It looked nice and neat, with weapons racks, bookshelves, and a window open for breeze. She fell on the bed with a thump, asleep almost before her head hit the pillow. 

A body flopped on top of Mei, jolting her awake. She instinctively shoved at the dark form, which was scrambling backwards. A disgruntled voice sounded from the far side of the room.  
“What the hell?”  
“I could say the same.”

Mei heard the flint scrape, and a candle flickered to life. It was the same angry boy she had seen in the hall. Kel's son. They stared at each other, each silently evaluating the other. He had changed much in the past 5 years taller than her by a few inches, with his hair nearly black instead of the light brown it had been. There were frown lines between his eyes, and the same stubborn chin. He was in a white shirt, which came down to his knees, thank Mithros. She was in her undershirt and loincloth, her waist length jet hair in a messy braid, narrowed eyes blazing with anger and embarrassment. Aunt Kel came in the door.  
“I heard something - Mikael! - I didn’t think you were coming back tonight. I gave Mei your bed. Sorry.”  
At her sincerity, Mikael’s frown softened. He stepped toward his mother. His hand went up to the back of his neck, rubbing nervously.  
“Yeah, sorry about that, I may have lost my temper.”  
“You certainly did. But you have a right to your own opinion, no matter how wrong you are.“  
Her Aunt smiled at her son as he stood sheepishly in front of her.  
Dom poked his head in the room. It was starting to look like a party in there. Mei was watching all this with large eyes, clutching the blankets around her. Uncle Dom must have just gotten back from patrol, he was still in his King’s Own uniform. He took in the scene, then drawled, in a voice remarkably similar to Mei’s father:  
“Aren’t you a little young to be bringing home girls?”  
Three loud voices clamored together, one angry, one affronted but amused, and one embarrassed.  
“Da!”  
“Dom!”  
“Uncle Doooooooom!”  
The large man grinned.   
“You were all far too serious for this time of night. And thirteen is too young to have a girl in his bed. Nice to see you again, Mei. Now, figure out who’s sleeping where, and then let’s go to bed. Kel, you’re with me.”  
“Da!” Mikael scowled at his father’s insinuation.  
“Sounds good to me, Dom!”  
“Ma!” Mikael’s face filled with indignation.  
Mei shot Mikael a sympathetic look as she swung her legs out of Mikael’s bed. Amorous parents were a trial to anyone. Mikael shook his head as she stood, and, after grabbing a pillow and a few blankets he ducked out into the living area. So the grouch had a heart. Either that or he wanted to get away from his flirtatious parents. With murmured goodnights, her aunt and uncle left, taking the candle with them. Mei mentally shrugged, and fell back onto the pillows as she meditated on the impossibility of avoiding lovesick parents.


	2. Lurker in the shadows

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This is 4 years later, Mei is 15 and a page, Mikael is 17 and squire to Allanna of Pirate's Swoop and Olau

“Mei, you’re safe, let go of me!”, Mikael’s earnest tones came from somewhere above Mei. Slowly she came to, blinking rapidly to clear her eyes. One hand was twisting Mikael’s thumb in a painful manner, the other was clutching strange sheets, and the window was in the wrong place. Her confused gaze fell on Mikael’s concerned one.   
“Where in Mithros’ name am I?” She rasped, releasing his hand.  
“Errr. my quarters.” Mikael admitted as he poured her a cup of water.  
“What? Mikael, the door’s closed, we could get punishment duty for the rest of the year! Or they could just force you out of training - and me! - Hold on - Is my arm in a sling? Explain right this minute, Mikael Hakuin of Masbolle and Mindelan or I tell your mother you abducted me!”  
Mikael gave her a rueful smile as he handed her the water.   
“There’s the Mei I know. Yes, yes, I’ll explain.” He answered Mei’s stony glare.   
Mikael settled himself on the edge of the bed.   
“So here’s what happened, as best as I can tell.”  
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

“Well”, Mei drawled slowly, looking at the three other students with her,“As much as I loooove helping you simpletons understand tactics, I do have other obligations, namely magic studies, and since none of you peasants are mages, I’ll bid you goodnight.”  
Liam of Kennan, Jinora of Sigi’s Hold, and Hasim Mukhtab groaned all together. The library table the three of the sat at was strewn with books, maps, and tears of desperation.  
“But we still have the history exam to study for!”complained Hasim.  
Mei grinned.“Not my problem.”  
Liam grumbled, head in his hands. “Fine, Queen’s Cove. Abandon your friends. We’ll fail year end examinations, die of sadness, and return from the grave to haunt you!”  
Mei just laughed at Liam’s dramatics and breezed out the door. She decided to visit the kitchens for a snack before practicing her magic. Using magic always left her hungry and tired. She followed the warrens of the palace, taking two lefts, then a right into a long dark corridor. Mei was about two thirds of the way through when Orim of Veldine, a squire two years older than Mei, appeared out of the shadows immediately behind her, a vulpine smile on his face. He often made rude remarks toward her, but he looked as if he had something worse on his mind.   
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~  
The next thing Mei remembered was sitting on the floor, eyes swollen shut. She could hear two men arguing, and the sound of punches being thrown. All the sounds rang loudly and garbled together in her head. Her temple throbbed steadily, and she thought she felt red-hot pain shooting up from her right arm. She heard an abrasive but solid voice yelling something about honor and decency. Now her hearing was coming back, the words were clearer.  
“Say that one more time and you’ll meet your match in the lists.”   
Next a baritone, with a bit of a rumble.  
“What, Masbolle, you think you can take me? Ha, that will be the day!”   
A pause, and then the first voice’s tone turned to ice  
“No, I’ll let Queen’s Cove at you after she’s been healed. She has that right, and she will inflict a more furious beating than any I could give you. “  
“Fine, I’ll leave the chit alone, Masbolle. Have a good evening”  
Heavy footsteps could be heard receding down the hallway. Mei relaxed into the wall, knowing that her attacker was gone, at least for now. She sensed Mikael kneeling next to her, then take her wrist. Most people would have immediately started talking, asking if she was alright and what hurt. Not Mikael. He was taking her pulse, whispering numbers. Mei could feel the pent up anger in the tenseness of his hand. Apparently there was nothing out of the ordinary about her pulse because he was now examining her face for injuries, probing her skull gently. Next he checked her legs and left arm, moving them up and down with care. When he came to her other arm, she jerked away before he even touched it, inadvertently hitting it against the wall. Mikael let loose with an impressive stream of curses, cutting off her own profanities. With little apparent effort, he swung her carefully into his arms and set down the hall at a trot.   
He knocked on the doors of the first healer they found, and after a few moments, a sleepy looking man with grey hair and a slight limp opened the door, took in the situation, and motioned them down the hall toward a workroom. As they went, he questioned Mikael about the particulars, which Mikael skillfully dodged, admitting only that his friend had taken a bad stumble down several flights of stairs. Mei was vaguely grateful for this, she didn’t want the whole palace aware of what had happened until she had had time to make sense of it. Mikael set her down on a table, and the healer gave a cursory examination of her body, before settling on the right arm. Steeling herself, Mei looked down at it. She could tell the angle of the arm was wrong, but fortunately there was no bone puncturing the skin. The pain was just as bad though, and became sharper as the grizzled healer poked around at it. He looked up as she winced particularly hard.   
“Sorry, laddie, but I’ve got to figure out the exact break before I can set and heal it. Ach, you pages with all your “falling down stairs” and “philosophical disagreements.” Hold still now!”  
Mei gritted her teeth and held her arm still through sheer force of will and a desire not to appear any weaker than she had to before Mikael. Cousin though he may be, he was a squire, and two years her senior. There were enough mutterings about the weakness of female knights without stories getting out about this incident. The healer seemed to have gotten the bones set, because he was now muttering arcane phrases and extending a hand over the injury that seemed to glow yellow. The bones itched, and muscles stretched as they knit back together. As he finished, her arm looked normal, and Mei felt like collapsing with exhaustion. Mikael made muttered apologies and thanks to the healer before scooping Mei up into his arms and heading out the door. Perplexed at this hurry to leave, the healer protested, talking about the bruises and black eye sure to show up. Seeing Mikael’s determination, he finally surrendered and shoved a tin of bruise balm into Mei’s limp hand.   
____________________________________________________________________________________  
“...After that, not knowing where else I could take you to rest in safety, I carried you here and laid you on the bed, I’ve been dozing in the corner. Once first bell rings, we can go see training Master haMinch, and report Veldine. Although I’m tempted to just tell the Temple of the Goddess and let their warriors deal with him.   
Mei smiled up from the bed, grim satisfaction in her eyes.   
“Let’s do both. haMinch first, so Veldine is in custody, at least, and then the temple, so he won’t hurt anyone else ever again. Possible disemboweling in between, if we have time. He may not have had a chance to do much with me, but if there were other women-  
The determination morphed into fear, word trailing half-spoken from her mouth. How much had he touched her? She had been unconscious for Mithros knows how long, and Orim could have done anything he wanted. She had been defenseless, and what if he came after her again. NO, came the reminder from the rational part of her brain, you’re safe now. First off, he doesn’t know where you are, second, Mikael is here, and he’s afraid of Mikael. This wasn’t as reassuring as Mei would have liked, so Mei groped around for a weapon, fingers brushing a knife between the wall and the bed.   
Both eyebrows jumped. She had expected to have to improvise a crude weapon out of a pitcher or firewood, or a comb. This was much better. The question remained, what was it doing in Mikael’s bed. She swung upright, wincing as her arm reminded her that it had not healed completely. Mikael was sitting on a pile of cushions in the corner, with a sheaf of paper in his hand. He was absorbed in the marks he was making with a pencil, fingers black from the charcoal. Her mental rambling had apparently gone on long enough that Mikael had found something to occupy himself. He had now noticed that she had moved and glanced up, meeting her eyes. Mei crooked her eyebrow, dangling the ensheathed dagger from her uninjured hand. Mikael only shrugged.   
“Preparedness. It’s part of - “  
“The Code, yes. Do you brush your teeth according to the Code?   
“You don’t? I thought you were a model page.”  
Mei was startled. Since when did the Masbolle Mountain have a sense of humor?


	3. Aftermath

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Tamora Pierce owns Tortall, I own far too many books.

Midday found both Mei and Mikael sitting in front of Padraig haMinch’s office, exhausted determination permeating their posture. Mei’s arm had recovered enough that the sling was off, although it ached as if a horse had stepped on it. Training master haMinch had gone to interview the healer, they didn’t know when he’d be back, although he’d already been gone for two bells. Just as Mei was about to suggest lunch, the blond training master came around the corner, behind him came Orim. They both stood, straightening tunics and runnings fingers through their hair. Mikael stepped in front of Mei as Orim approached.  
Orim merely smirked as he strutted by into the office. Mei and Mikael exchanged disgruntled looks, then, at Padraig haMinch’s behest, joined Orim. The three knights in training stood awkwardly as the training master took his seat. His grey eyes looked like a coastal hurricane Mei had experienced in the Yamani Islands but nothing else showed on his face. He first made Orim account for his wherabouts last night, giving him the chance to come clean. Mei could have told him not to waste his time. The bastard was a born liar. Next haMinch turned to Mei and questioned her as if he didn’t believe her story. She answered all his questions, shortly. She was in no mood to be trifled with. haMinch asked her to catalogue the injuries Orim had allegedly inflicted. She recited the litany of blows and breaks, Mikael growing tenser beside her as it went on. Orim didn’t flinch until she reported having been dealt a crippling blow to her arm. Orim objected, insisting that the lady page showed no signs of an injured right arm. At this haMinch smiled bitterly.   
“And how, Veldine, did you know which arm had been injured? As Mikael and Mei can attest, she did not mention a specific limb.”  
“She did. Queen’s Cove said someone had dealt a blow to her right arm.” Orim tried to sound confident, but apparently his habit of lying had not given him any skill in it.   
haMinch merely sat forward and motioned Mikael and Mei to leave, with a significant nod to Mikael. As they stepped out, they heard him lecturing Orim on the gravity of his actions. Mei looked up at Mikael.   
“Is that it? He gets a slap on the wrist, a lecture, and goes free?!  
Mikael laughed without humor.   
“There are few men of arms about at this hour, and so Master haMinch is buying me time to fetch the guards. Then, if you wish, we shall go to the Temple of the Goddess and have them come take custody. Mei, that bastard won’t get away, he will be punished, and he won’t hurt anyone again.”  
By the end of this explanation all that was left in his voice was reassurance. His eyes met hers without wavering.   
She managed a wobbly smile.   
“Well, we’d better go get the guard then.”


	4. Morning People Suck

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Archery and shenanigans

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Tamora Pierce owns Tortall, I own a cat named Bumper

In the weeks that followed Orim’s imprisonment, Mei spent more and more time with Mikael. Many of the other pages didn’t know how to treat her, they treated her either like nothing had happened, or as if she had suddenly become a weak maiden. Alexis didn’t know what had happened - she was only 13, and hardly ever at court. Mikael was the only one who treated her like usual, but always willing to listen or merely spend time with her, on the days when being alone was too much.   
To add to their companionship was his skill with the bow. She could admit it exceeded hers only because he was two years her senior. His was both a natural talent and a carefully honed one. She had taken to waking up a bell earlier in the mornings to train with him. He wasn’t a patient teacher, but he knew what she was doing wrong, corrected her, and challenged her. That was all she asked.   
One day saw both of them up even earlier; grey predawn light casting a dim glow on the torrential rain. Mei flicked a sodden lock of hair out of her eyes as she slung her tooled leather quiver and belt over her hip.  
“Remind me again why I befriended a morning person?  
“Because if I wasn’t, there’d be nobody to drag your sorry ass out of bed to practice, and you’d be an even worse shot than you are now.”  
A sideways glance revealed that Mikael wasn’t going to explain the purpose of rising early. She didn’t take kindly to those who woke her up for no discernible reason or insulted her already above average skill with the bow. His concentration was tied to stringing his bow, the wood bent with all the force he could apply. Mei casually stretched a leg out and knocked the bottom of his bow sideways, the top catching him with a colossal slap on his forearm. With a roar Mikael tossed his bow and quiver to the ground and lunged toward Mei. With all due haste she sprinted away down the archery range. She belatedly realized that if Mikael had the presence of mind, he could merely pick up his bow and shoot her with the blunt practice arrows. Fortunately, once Mikael’s anger was roused, he wasn’t a clear thinker. These musings had made Mei slow her pace fractionally. When Mikael’s hand brushed her arm, she realized her imminent danger and put on a turn of speed. Mikael may have been older and stronger, but Mei was as swift and agile as a spooked stag. She dashed through the columns lining the practice courts, and skidded around a corner.  
“So, running practice today?”  
No reply, just heavy footfalls. Mei chuckled as she ducked through a doorway. She risked a glance backward. He was at least 10 paces behind. Mei crashed into a bench and landed hard on a table. A table filled with men of the King’s Own. A table covered with breakfast. Stunned silence lasted for a moment, then the men burst out in hearty guffaws. Their amusement intensified when Mikael came sprinting in, although he came to a more dignified stop. One of them, sitting at the table Mei had landed on, spoke in a manner obscenely cheerful at this hour.  
“Gerad, two more for breakfast!”   
Mei rolled over, wincing in anticipation of the bruises she knew would be forthcoming. Several bowls of porridge clattered to the floor. The men watched, curious to see how this unknown page would react. She swung her legs over the end of the table and summoned a smirk.  
“You think I’m a sight? You should have seen Mikael here after I knocked his bow out from under him while he was stringing it. Let this serve as a cautionary tale. If you must wake someone up at this unholy hour, let them know the reason immediately, lest they fly into a rage and deal you some injury.”  
Mikael’s triumphant face fell, cheeks flushing, but he knew that this was his home ground. He had grown up around these men, many of them belonged to his father’s command, Second Company. It helped that he bore a striking resemblance to his father.   
“That must have happened because she knows I’ll outshoot her at any time of day. After all, it was all of you who first taught me to handle a bow.”  
This elicited plenty of laughter and smug nods.   
Mei, hungry for breakfast, gracefully conceded with a sharp nod. She and Mikael joined the table she had landed on, the men making room for them. She couldn’t remember a group that had more friendly camaraderie than the]She was\ also able to extract from them several embarrassing stories of Mikael’s childhood. All in all, it ranked as one of the best mornings of her page years.  
So it was understandable that when Mei went to bed that night, the last thing she was expecting was nightmares.

**Author's Note:**

> Kel and Dom are married, have Mikael, and then the twins, Alexis and Ciara. Yuki and Neal have Meilianne and Georgia. Men above a certain rank in the King's Own are allowed now to have families.   
> Mikael= My-kal  
> Meilianne= May-lee-ann, or Mei =May


End file.
